CBI approved Ramada resort project far away from completion, Chinese developers to blame

The Ramada resort, an approved project under the Citizenship by investment programme of St Kitts and Nevis is far far away from completion as the Chinese developers have failed to meet the completion commitment, which was the end of 2018.

Even after the public assurance by the Caribbean Galaxy Real Estate Ltd, a Beijing-based development company earlier this year, that project will be completed by the end of this year. The construction has witnessed very nominal progress and the resort does not seem to get opened any soon.

The Ramada resort was supposed to be among the best resorts of international standards and 273 suites were planned to be developed in the first phase

However, recent photos released by a Caribbean news website show the different picture as it show only a half-built resort opposite to the government's fast development claims and far away from completion. The project commenced in 2014 but much of the structure is still not complete and there is no sign of any mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) installation, which is generally the sign that construction is nearing completion. The work is already behind but still, there is no proper workforce in the area.

Tang Jiang, vice president of Galaxy real Estate Ltd, claimed in May that his company is “very efficient”. “Resort will be ready for business by the end of the year,” he said. But contrary to the claims of Jiang there is no significant progress on the construction site.

St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris along with chief executive officer of the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU), Les Khan visited the site in June this year, Harris declared that it “is progressing at an impressive rate”, according to a government release. “we have seen improvements in the construction on this site, so generally there is a feeling of satisfaction,” he declared.

Les Khan also claimed that the Ramada project had been one of the more active projects under the CBI programme over the last few years. But the ground reports show that the Ramada resort site has been nothing more than a construction site since 2014 so on what bases Les Khan claim it a successful project. The phase one can be barely be described as completed, but still, it was enough to stop the government from approving the beginning of sales of phase two.

A data released by the Caribbean News Now shows that Galaxy continues to quote investment shares in its Ramada project starting at US$80,000 for Chinese clients, which includes citizenship, assuming certain criteria are met. The recent offer disseminated by Caribbean Galaxy Real Estate for St Kitts and Nevis citizenship by investment data shows none among them comes close to the legally mandated minimum real estate investment of US$200,000.

Further website claims that in fact, according to a recent text message from Khan to a citizenship agent in Dubai, he has been actively suggesting that applications be diverted to the Galaxy project, notwithstanding the unauthorised discounts, which he also claimed not to know how to deal with.

Allegations of fraud surfaced regarding the real estate investment route of St Kitts and Nevis’ CBI Programme last month. The claims held that a number of agents and developers were undercutting the minimum price required for the real estate investment option, and instead were offering significantly lower rates not sanctioned by the Government. These discounts took the form of reduced prices, time-limited offers, and incentives in the form of “profit” made from the development, such as rental income. Under the Programme, any income made from the investment must be declared by applicants to the Citizenship by Investment Unit.

In response to the allegations, the Unit, headed by CEO Les Khan, issued a press release dated 28 November 2018, in which it reported having already identified and penalised two agents found to have been undercutting, and committed to investigate the matter further and take appropriate action. However, there has been growing criticism that Khan’s actions were not strong enough to effectively prevent these activities from reoccurring in the future and safeguard the integrity of the Programme. Despite several attempts by WIC News reporters, Khan has not responded to requests for his comments on the matter.

Last week, the Leader of the Opposition, former Prime Minister Denzil Douglas has said that he will revoke the citizenship of any applicant who is found to have underpaid for St Kitts and Nevis’ Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme via the real estate investment route.

He has told WIC News that, upon re-election to office, his government will scrutinise and discipline applicants who applied via the real estate investment route and either did not pay the full amount or did not properly declare any returns made. He has assured that the government will examine all previously approved citizenship applications, including a review of how much the applicant paid, the method of payment used, if they received any return on the investment, and their source of funds. Critically, any applicant who is found to have breached CBI requirements will have his/her citizenship revoked by the St Kitts and Nevis authorities. Their actions will be treated as criminal, and they will be brought to justice under Federation law.